Guardian of the Array
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, days 1451 through 1539 (alternating; posted on Fridays, Sundays, Tuesdays): One day, the Doctor visited an old friend who had yet to meet her and took him on an adventure; at McKinley, Artie and Puck have their sight on Sugar. - Doctor Who/Glee crossover #5
1. Your Doctor & Mine

_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 69th cycle. Now cycle 70!_

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**_GLEEKATHON FOURTH ANNIVERSARY CYCLE -_**_ It's October again, which means another year of Gleekathon is about to wrap up! At the end of the month it will have been four years since I've started doing my daily stories! As always, I will be celebrating this with a special cycle of stories to touch on my favorite stories I've done throughout the year. There will be two installments each on Thursdays, Saturdays, Mondays, and Wednesdays. The remaining days will feature, as they have in the last several months, new chapters of the latest story in my Doctor Who/Glee crossover series. As far as the anniversary stories go, it will be as I've done before, taking those past stories and either doing a prequel, sequel, POV swap, genre swap, alternate ending, or additional scenes._

_(Chapters 1 through 9 fall in the anniversary cycle, though the story will go on beyond that of course)_

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**"Guardian of the Array"  
Doctor Who/Glee crossover  
(#5 in series; sequel to "The Generational Purge")  
from DW: (alternate) 12th Doctor (others, too, later... shh, secret)  
from Glee: Artie, Puck, Sugar, New Directions**

**1. Your Doctor & Mine**

_January 2012 – Lima, Ohio_

Artie had made the deal with Puck, your story for my story. It was simple enough, but right from the start he had known that something was off. Puck kept saying 'he' or 'him.' And now that he had finished his story, he would expect Artie to own up, which would mean sharing this problem. He really didn't have a choice, not if he wanted Puck's help. He didn't just want it, he needed it, fast.

"It's just… the Doctor that I met, I'm pretty sure… Actually, I'm completely certain… It wasn't the same one that you met."

"Oh… Well… Maybe it's like a shared title?" Puck sat back down.

"I don't think so," Artie shook his head.

"Then how do you know that it's not the same person, I mean I didn't even describe him that well… or at all," Puck pointed out.

"Well, you just did. You said 'he.' The Doctor I met, it was a she." Puck stared at him like he'd just leapt out of his wheelchair and done an Irish jig.

"Say that again?"

"My Doctor was a woman."

Puck had understood him the first time, but he'd still needed to hear it again, and that didn't make it any easier. He sat there, turning the word in his head, the idea… There was no way that was his Doctor then, right? He still remembered the guy, tall, with those ears, and that nose… Even dressed as a woman, he couldn't pass, could he?

"You're sure…"

"I can tell the difference between a man and a woman," Artie frowned.

"Wasn't saying you couldn't," Puck held his hands up. "But she… she was really…"

"Yes," Artie was growing aggravated.

"Then… there really is more than one, or are they the same person?"

"How could they be?"

"Well he… she… they… Aliens, dude," Puck shrugged. "Maybe that's something his species can do. He didn't say how old he was, maybe that's how they stay alive or something. Who knows how long they're out there?"

"That would be… That would explain some things, actually," Artie told himself.

"Like what?" Puck started to say, but then changed his mind. "Okay, but it doesn't matter right now. Maybe it's the same person, maybe it's not. Just tell me the story already."

"Fine," Artie sighed. "Before I do though…"

"Artie, come on!" Puck huffed.

"Just listen, okay? I'm only going to give you some background before I get into the rest of it, so you really know where I was at."

"Okay," Puck relaxed, leaving him the floor to speak. Artie took a moment.

"Well, first thing you need to know is this was shortly after I had my accident and I ended up in a chair. I was eight years old, and I was just… miserable. They couldn't have come at a better time, it was so strange," he frowned to himself with a smile. "I used to think it was like they knew."

"Maybe they did," Puck told him. Artie nodded; he'd been thinking that more and more.

By the time he would finish telling Puck his story, they would be convinced now more than ever, whether it was one Doctor or two, a man, a woman, it wouldn't matter. Something was happening, and they wouldn't let go until they found out what it was. It would probably mean spying on the fake substitute a while longer, but that was something they were willing to do.

X

_February 2012_

Just when they thought they had this whole thing figured out, or as figured out as they could until they got a break, that break had come… and they didn't know what to do about it. All this time "Ginny/Gemma" had been this stationary entity, between McKinley and wherever it was she lived. Now she somehow had this thing that made her able to travel in time and space all on her own. They also knew she must have been looking in on other people, not just Puck, or him, and there was an idea.

"You know she did spend a lot of time with Sugar that first time. You don't think maybe…" Puck pointed out cautiously, and Artie looked at him.

"I don't know," he admitted. "Do you think?"

"Well, there's one way of finding out."

"Gemma's gone now," Artie whispered. "Even if we go to Sugar about it, there's no telling when she'll get back." Puck knew he had a point, but it didn't make it any easier to agree.

"Fine, then we'll just keep doing what we've been doing, we'll wait. But when your girl comes back here, we talk to Sugar." Artie considered their options, too, and he nodded.

"That's fine."

X

_March 2012_

Artie swore he could feel it. He woke up that morning, and he knew that when he would make it to school, she would be there… Ginny Harrison, or as he knew her, Gemma Lucas. He texted that much to Puck, who probably thought he was getting desperate. That was probably it, but just to be on the safe side, he made quick work of getting himself ready and off to school as soon as possible.

When he arrived… Puck was already there.

"I thought you said you didn't believe me," Artie accused him.

"What makes you think it has anything to do…"

"When was the last time you've made it to school so early?" He was busted.

"Okay, fine, can you blame me? All this runaround, if she really is here again, then we should get on top of this quick," Puck explained.

"We still don't know if she's really…"

"Bingo," Puck looked over his head, and Artie took a peek, turning his head.

Sure enough, coming up the path, there was the substitute teacher-slash-time traveller. She passed by them without stopping or looking.

"Does she look different to you?" Artie frowned.

"Different how?" Puck asked. Artie couldn't explain it.

"I don't know. But she's here… We need to find Sugar."

TO BE CONTINUED (SUNDAY)


	2. We Wear the Mask

**"Guardian of the Array"**

**2. We Wear the Mask**

_Somewhere in Indiana, 1987_

It was the first day of summer. It might not have been summer as a season, but it was certainly summer as a time, for the children of Meadowbrook Elementary, who were being let out for the last time until fall came around. They were free for the summer, and they couldn't wait for the playing to start. No more homework, no more teachers.

Sarah and Molly Andrews were two of those students, and the sisters were completing the fifth and third grades respectively. As always, they would meet each other in the hall when they were done and walk out hand in hand to meet their mother when she came to pick them up. On this day, they would have a surprise waiting for them along with their mother in the schoolyard.

"Puppy!" Molly squealed and took off running. She didn't have to urge her sister to hurry: she was running, too. Their mother laughed, seeing them come in such haste, while the puppy on the leash grew agitated as the girls grew closer. They let their bags drop to the ground and crouched. Sarah was the first to get her hands on the little deep brown animal, and if it wasn't love at first sight, the puppy was very in like with the child, licking her face and wiggling its tail. Sarah laughed, while Molly tried to touch it too.

"It's ours?" Sarah asked her mother, finally allowing her little sister a shot at holding the animal.

"He is," Mrs. Andrews nodded.

"Can we name him?" Molly put the puppy back on the ground. He would look from one of them to the other, unable to decide who to plead with to pick him up again.

"We can do that when we're all home, deal?"

"Okay," the girls spoke at once.

"Come on, your brother should be done at work any minute now, we'll go pick him up on the way." The girls got their bags back, and they would both get their turn at holding the leash.

"Hey there, Mary, girls," they were greeted by the crossing guard, an old man, short and heavy with a giant mustache the color of snow.

"Hi, Mr. Henry!" the girls waved at him.

"We got a puppy!" Molly declared.

"Yes, I see that," Mr. Henry laughed. "You have a good summer now."

They went on walking toward Main Street, passing the newsstand, where their neighbor worked, and the diner, where they had enough meals since they'd lived in this town that it sometimes felt like their kitchen and dining room were a secondary post. The Andrews family had three children, and ahead of the girls was their one boy, Joshua. He was a bag boy at the local market.

His mother was right, he was almost done with his shift, and that was shaping up to be a problem: he was going to miss his chance. He was still standing there, putting Mrs. Michaelson's groceries in bags, even though anyone else, in the same position as him, would already have made their way to the back of the store to gather their things and punch in their timecard. Mrs. Michaelson was their neighbor anyway, he had a valid reason to help her, and what were they going to do anyway, reprimand him for being too good of an employee?

"Hi, Josh," a sweetly high voice made him nearly drop two cans of chicken noodle soup.

He turned to look and saw her, her dark brown hair pulled into a neat bun on top of her head, her dark brown eyes that could light a flame for sure… The way she moved, she could have been a dancer, a ballerina. Her name was Lydia Diaz, and she worked the register. Her shift was just starting, and he hated that he was done. This was a recent change, since he'd finished tenth grade a few days ago. Lydia had just finished too. She was a year younger than him, but she was in the same grade as he was. They used to have the same shifts, but after they'd finished school, the store manager had shuffled their schedules, and now this was what he was stuck with.

"H-Hey, Lydia…"

"Hello, Mrs. Michaelson," she smiled to the old woman, who smiled back before taking her bags and heading out. "Shouldn't you be getting out of here?" Lydia asked him and he blinked.

"Yes, I…"

"Joshua!" a child's voice stopped him and he turned to see his little sister Sarah standing just inside the door. He could also see his mother and his younger sister outside, with the puppy he already knew they were getting, even though he'd been sworn to secrecy. He couldn't tell them to wait, they would embarrass him in front of Lydia and he would never get another shot after that.

"I… need to go," he sighed.

"See you later," Lydia just smiled before turning serve her first customer of the day.

After he'd gotten his things, Joshua Andrews had joined his mother and sisters and they'd all headed home. He didn't talk the whole way, no matter how many times Sarah and Molly tried to engage him in conversation. They made it home, where Thomas Andrews was just pulling into the driveway. He had promised to finish early at work, for the girls' school year end and, they now knew, to help welcome the new addition to their family.

When the whole family had been reunited though, it was clear there was something on his son's mind, and on his wife's as well. The girls had been dispatched to go play with the puppy in the backyard, and when the door was shut, Joshua made to go upstairs.

"Hold on, get back here," Mary Andrews called, and the boy stopped on the steps.

"I didn't do anything wrong," Joshua glared.

"What happened?" Thomas Andrews asked, looking from his wife to his son and back.

"We've been through this before," the mother told her son. "It's nothing against her, she's a lovely girl."

"Lydia Diaz again?" the father understood, crossing his arms.

"I haven't told her anything, I won't, I swear," Joshua insisted.

"It doesn't matter," Thomas told him.

"It does matter!" Joshua clenched his fists. "I like her, I think I lo…"

"You can't see her," his father shook his head.

"Why? She doesn't know what we are, why we're all hiding here, and she won't, because of this," he pulled back his sleeve, showing the inside of his arm, from shoulder to elbow.

To the casual observer, it might have passed as a tattoo, even though they were all careful to keep sleeves that would reach their elbows at the shortest. If they got a closer look, they might have said it resembled a meter of some sort. That was almost what it was, and for good reason. If they did look, they would see that the blue bars would light up and turn off, depending on the status of the person it was 'metering.' In perfect health, all bars would be lit, but the closer to death they got…

"Enough," Thomas reached over and pulled the sleeve back down. "To your room, now." Joshua didn't have to be told twice. When he shut his door though, he stopped to stand in front of the mirror hanging on the back of it.

He could see his own reflection, his real reflection, the one that didn't belong to Joshua Andrews but to Corian Eksh. He saw himself just as lanky as his fake image, only his natural impulse was to walk at a bit of a slouch. He'd had to work to correct that, they'd all had to, if they wanted to pass for the human images they were projecting. His skin was rougher to the touch, too, not soft like the people here. And he had a tail. Even now, it was curling and twisting behind him. The shield made it so no one would see it, or feel it. So long as he could control himself, if anyone ever came to touch him, they would feel soft human skin, just like they would see a face and body that matched it. They would see Joshua Andrews. If they only knew how many of them there were in their peaceful little town.

TO BE CONTINUED (TUESDAY)


	3. A Young Companion

**"Guardian of the Array"**

**3. A Young Companion**

_Inside the TARDIS_

Gemma Lucas had always been told to make memories whenever she could, to take this life she had been given and make something of it. That was what she'd been doing, to lengths few would believe. After all, here she was, travelling for five months now with an alien who had the ability to explore both time and space aboard a spaceship that looked like a blue police box. She had seen worlds long dead and words yet to be created. She had met people she had heard about in school, and she had met aliens who were far from being little green men. She was making memories alright, even if she couldn't share most of them without making some solid edits.

She was going to have to tear this last excursion down to bare bones to make it passable, but she would always know the truth, and some others could, too… Maybe the ones who mattered most of all.

"Doctor?" she spoke up hesitantly as they stood back in the TARDIS, having left this last world behind, before they could get run through with battle axes. The woman was moving around the console, pulling this and twisting that.

There was something sort of clumsy about the Doctor that she hadn't been able to explain. The easiest example was to look at her clothes, her hair… It wasn't that she looked bad, and for the most part she could pass as refined, though that might have been the accent. Gemma would say she looked in her late forties, as humans went, though she knew the alien was actually hundreds of years beyond that. It was like she was trying to find out who she was all the time. Sometimes Gemma would catch her looking at herself in a mirror, frowning at the dark brown curls she had piled on top of her head, readjust the button up shirt under her jacket. When she would spot Gemma spying, she would brush it off, mutter something about 'twelve hundred odd years and one morning, boom,' and change the subject. It had taken her three months to figure it out, but then she had the stories…

The Doctor still wouldn't get into it, and Gemma figured she was better off respecting this instead of pushing too far and getting herself left somewhere like a frozen moon for all eternity.

"Well we've taken off now, it's alright," the Doctor assured her, spotting something up on her sleeve and squinting at it before picking it off. "Oh… this again," she set it on the corner of the console and dusted her hands off. "We may have to stop somewhere to dispose of… it," she looked at the chunk almost apologetically. "No point littering."

"Doctor," Gemma tried again, and she looked up.

"What is it?"

"I was just thinking… I might want to go home for a few days, see my family," she explained. The Doctor was still looking at her. "Hey, it doesn't have to be right away, but… soon. I know you can bring me home like I've never left, but I did leave, and I haven't been back to see them in almost half a year. You get it, right? It's only a few days and we can go again." The Doctor hadn't stopped looking at her since she'd started talking, and she wasn't sure if she'd been paying attention at all, she looked distracted suddenly. "Did you hear what I said?"

"Were you any good at school?" she asked, turning back to the controls, and Gemma frowned.

"What?"

"School. History, English, science, algebra… school."

"I, well… I was alright, I guess. I wasn't valedictorian or anything, but I graduated, and…"

"What about teaching, ever thought about being a teacher?" Now Gemma was nearly positive the Doctor hadn't listened to her at all.

"I didn't, you know I… Why do you want to know?"

"No reason," the Doctor smiled, and the TARDIS shuddered: they had landed. Gemma hadn't even been aware they were moving. "Right, off we go, pick that up, will you?" she pointed to the chunk before moving to the doors and stepping out.

"You never actually…" Gemma started to call after her, but it was pointless, so she picked up the chunk with a sigh and followed.

They were on Earth, in the US, not too far off from her own time, she could tell right away. It was a sunny day, and as mildly annoyed as she'd been a moment ago, she breathed in that air and it was hard not to feel good.

Spotting a trash can, she quickly disposed of the chunk, patting herself down to make sure she didn't have anything to throw out, too.

"Doctor?" she called to her, dashing to catch up. "What are we doing here? What's going on?"

"Calling on an old friend," the Doctor simply said.

"Old companion?" Gemma guessed, seeing as they were in a residential neighborhood.

"Not quite."

"Then what?" she asked just as they stepped.

"Here," the Doctor indicated a house across the street. "This is where he lives." Gemma followed her signal and saw a house with a wheelchair ramp outside.

"I just asked you if I could go home for a couple days, so you take me on a social call all of a sudden?"

"Time sensitive," the Doctor nodded. "Here's the thing though, this friend doesn't know me yet, not in this time."

"Then why come here now?"

"Because, this is when he meets me," she answered as though it was the simplest thing.

"Sure," Gemma had resigned herself to not getting to see her family just yet. "Do you need me to wait in the TARDIS, or…"

"No, why would I do that? Besides, we're going to need the TARDIS for this," the Doctor had this look about her that Gemma knew meant there was more she wasn't being told and would not be told. "We're about to go on an adventure, the three of us. So here's what we do."

TO BE CONTINUED (FRIDAY)


	4. Here We Go Again

**"Guardian of the Array"**

**4. Here We Go Again**

_Lima, Ohio – March 2012_

Things would be different this time; Gemma knew it from the moment she walked through the doors of McKinley High. Her ankle had recovered nicely thanks to copious amounts of bed rest and reading. And now she was back, and her tasks were turned neither toward the future nor the past. It was all about this moment in time at this school, and there were two things she needed to do while she was here.

Things were finally starting to move along, and now that she could feel it, it made her confident. Coming back to McKinley actually started to feel good, like coming home. She never would have believed it, but there it was. She wouldn't lie and say she wasn't anxious to return to the Doctor and the TARDIS, but she didn't mind being here as much as she used to. One day this would be over, but for now she was at peace.

X

If there was one good thing about this new posting bringing Ginny/Gemma back to their school, it was that it wasn't in Glee Club this time, which meant she wouldn't be in the choir room, which meant Artie and Puck could sit together to work on 'Operation Motta' without anyone caring.

They had a plan and it was simple enough. When Glee rehearsal was over, they would ask Sugar if she wanted to go grab a Slushie with them. Knowing her, she would say yes right away unless there was really something important for her to do. Once they'd leave school, they would wait until they were on their own, just the three of them, and they would ask her, plain and simple, whether she had ever met an alien who called himself – or herself – the Doctor. Now the actual hard part of their plan was waiting for period to be done.

After going through the paces with choreography and the likes, Schuester had finally dismissed them, and Artie dispatched Puck to go ahead of him, in case Sugar got away from them and they missed her. They found her at her locker.

"Hey, Sugar," Artie gave her a smile. "We're heading to get Slushies, you want to come?" As expected…

"Sure! I'll treat," she declared proudly before shutting her locker. "My car's in the lot."

Puck had helped Artie into the back before getting his chair into the trunk, while Sugar begged him not to scratch anything. Finally, they were on the road, and they hardly had time to put a word in as Sugar started rattling off about something that had happened earlier that day in biology, which happened to be where Miss Harrison was subbing this time. Puck caught Artie's eye in the rear view mirror. It was as perfect of an opening as they could hope for if they were going to drop the Gemma name on her, but that wasn't their aim, not yet. First there was the matter of the Doctor. For all they knew, they had it all wrong and Sugar had no idea about Gemma's part in this and, if that was the case, then they'd be putting the information in her hands, leaving the way open for it to get out the way it shouldn't.

They did need to try and keep this contained though, so they ended up waiting until they had pulled into the lot and the car had stopped before they went ahead and asked what they needed to ask. It was better they did this in the privacy of the car.

"Sugar, I… we need to ask you something," Artie started from the back seat. She turned sideways so to face Puck and look in the back.

"Okay, shoot," she nodded. Artie looked to Puck for a moment.

"Well, here's the thing… It might sound weird but just bear with us, alright?"

"Right," Sugar frowned; she was starting to wonder what was happening. They couldn't drag this out too long.

"Have you ever met anyone who called themselves 'The Doctor?'"

There was something strange about her face when they asked the question: her face didn't move at all. She'd had this sort of curious half smile after she'd last spoken, and when Artie asked his question, her face just stayed frozen a moment, no tick, no blink, nothing. Then she did blink, looking from one to the other, and she laughed.

"Who?"

"There's this guy…" Puck told her.

"Or woman," Artie added.

"… and he calls himself the Doctor," Puck continued.

"Oh, sure," Sugar nodded. "I have Doctor Pratt, that's our family doctor, and Doctor Singh, that's my dentist…" she counted on her fingers. Puck and Artie both shut their eyes.

"No, not like that, I mean his whole name is that, 'the Doctor,'" Puck explained.

"Who would do that?" Sugar snorted.

"Well…" Puck looked to Artie, wondering if they should go on, at this rate.

"Never mind," Artie shrugged, trying not to look too disappointed. "Let's just… we'll go get the Slushies now." Puck got out of the car when Sugar popped the trunk, and he retrieved Artie's chair. He pulled him out of the back seat and set him down before turning to look back in the car.

"Got him," he told Sugar. She had her phone in hand and she turned to him.

"Guys, I'm so sorry, my mom just called, I need to get home. Here," she pulled out her wallet and handed them a ten dollar bill. "I said I'd pay, right?" she smiled. "I'm really sorry."

"Sure, don't worry about it," Artie blinked.

"Can you shut the doors?" Sugar asked Puck and he did. They stepped back, and she drove off without another word.

"How are we going to get home now?" Artie asked himself, but he shook his head and looked up at Puck. "What just happened?"

"I don't know, but that phone call thing was a pack of bull…"

"Do you think she lied to us? About the Doctor?"

"Maybe… Probably… We'll have to wait until tomorrow and ask her."

TO BE CONTINUED (SUNDAY)


	5. A Younger Companion

**"Guardian of the Array"**

**5. A Younger Companion**

_Lima, Ohio – in the year 2003_

His teacher had given him the book and asked if he could read it by the end of this month. She had done this with that look in her eyes, the same one all the adults at his school had, the one that says 'don't worry about it if it takes longer, do your best.' He wanted to show them that he didn't need their sympathy, but then here he was, three weeks after receiving the book, and he'd read all of ten pages.

He was sitting up on his bed with the book propped up in his hands like he was reading, but his mind was so far from the words they could have been any jumble of letters and it wouldn't have mattered. He didn't want to read, he wanted things he couldn't have. But he kept the book up in case his mother should stop in to check on him. As long as she thought he was reading, then she wouldn't start fretting over him. Every once in a while he turned a page, for good measure.

He vaguely heard the doorbell downstairs, turned a page, kept staring into nothing. He stared at his feet, peeking out of his pants' legs, one with a plain red sock, the other with a yellow and black striped one. They were so still they could have been wood.

There was so little sound downstairs, he figured whoever had rung the bell was gone. That was until a few minutes later, when he heard steps on the creaky stair heading up. He closed his eyes a moment, refocusing himself before looking at his book again until it was nearly glued to his nose. When the door opened, he turned his head, seeing his mother step in. She wasn't alone. There was a younger woman behind her, a stranger. She had dark brown hair and a kind smile, although he thought he saw some surprise in that smile.

"Artie, honey, you know how we've talked about your school work falling behind since you've been back, and how we were looking to get you a tutor, well this is Gemma," she looked back to the woman to make sure, and she nodded. "Yes, so, she would like to speak with you, and if you two get along well enough, then she could be your tutor. How does that sound?" Artie shrugged. "Right," Mrs. Abrams gave her son a smile. "I'll be downstairs if you need me." Artie watched his mother go, closing the door, and then he was alone with the tutor woman.

"Hello, Artie," she gave that smile again, crouching and then kneeling next to his bed. "My name is Gemma Lucas," she offered him her hand. He kept looking at her until she took it back.

"You're being weird," he stated.

"Am I?" she chuckled, lowering her head. "Well, you would be, too, in my place."

"Why's that?" he asked, and she turned her head back up, and this time her smile was different, truer.

"Can I tell you a secret?" she lowered her voice, bowing her head just enough to be conspiratorial. She wasn't sure why she thought that it would work, but it did. There was the tiniest of sparks in the boy's eyes, and the book flopped into his lap as he nodded. "I'm not really here to be your tutor."

"You're not?" Artie blinked, and she shook her head. "Who are you?"

"Well…" she started to explain, or at least started to try and figure out an explanation. But the need evaporated a second later.

For having experienced the clatter and the disruption of the arrival and departure of the Doctor's TARDIS before, she was amazed at how quiet it was this time. All there was to show for it was a light breeze and the wonder in the boy's eyes, as he saw the tall blue ship materialize in the middle of his room. Gemma strained her ears to make sure they wouldn't have the boy's mother rushing in and see the strange object that had gone and appeared out of nowhere.

"What's that?" Artie asked, just as the TARDIS door opened and the Doctor popped her head out.

"It's a ship," she declared, stepping out with nothing short of maternal pride for the big blue. Seeing the boy's face light up for the first time, Gemma wasn't sure she'd ever appreciated travelling with the Doctor more than she did now, even though she still didn't particularly know what she was up to. "Artie, is it?" she came up and offered her hand, and Gemma tried not to take it too personally that he took it immediately when he wouldn't take hers at all. "I'm the Doctor."

"A doctor?" he looked suddenly doubtful.

"It's not my job, it's my name," she promised with a smile as she sat on the edge of his bed.

"Is that really a ship, like a space ship?" the boy asked.

"That and a whole lot more," the Doctor promised.

"But it's so small," he looked back at the ship.

"Don't let appearances fool you," she looked him in the eye. "Do you want me to show you?" Gemma suddenly had a terrible realization.

"Uh… Doctor?" she tried to telegraph 'What are you doing? He is a child. What about his mother? This is kidnapping' with her eyes. The Doctor looked at her, unchanged.

"What boy doesn't love an adventure?" she asked her companion before looking back to Artie. "No one will even know you've gone and you'll be back here, what do you say?" Artie looked ready to say yes at first, but then something dawned on him, as it had done ever since… His smile faded.

"I can't go," he told her. Gemma looked relieved.

"Why not?" the Doctor wasn't distracted. Artie looked down for a moment.

"I can't walk."

"I can't play the clarinet, what's that got to do with it?" the Doctor shrugged, and when the smile started to creep back up on the boy's face, even Gemma was starting to cave in to the idea. "So then, Artie… Arthur? What do you say?"

TO BE CONTINUED (TUESDAY)


	6. Wherever You Would Go

_**A/N: Exactly four years ago today I posted my very first gleekathon daily story! :D See yesterday's shift A story for a message from me to you awesome reader people! ;)**_

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**"Guardian of the Array"**

**6. Wherever You Would Go**

_Inside the TARDIS_

Gemma had been the one to get shoes on him before lifting him into his wheelchair and getting him through the doors of the ship. Even as they were rolling over the threshold, Artie was still showing concerns over the size and the space available within the ship. He'd been looking back and up to Gemma mentioning just that, and she smirked, nodding for him to turn back ahead and look. She had to hurry and shut the doors behind them quick, hoping his cries of surprise didn't reach his mother.

"It's bigger on the inside!" he exclaimed. The Doctor, who'd gone ahead of them, now stood at the controls, and while she was busy getting them out of the house, Gemma could only notice that this statement, which was at times both awaited and regretted, had not provoked the slightest of reaction. Rather than to let anything on to the boy, Gemma took up the charge of giving him the introduction.

"I had the same reaction as you did, the first time." _Sort of._

"What if it crashes though? It's small on the outside," he pointed out.

"She's a strong ship," Gemma promised, coming to stand in front of them and crouching. "It's called the TARDIS. It stands for 'Time And Relative Dimension In Space.'" Artie blinked.

"Time?"

"Caught that, didn't you?" Gemma smirked.

"It travels in time?"

"That it does. You want to know something?" she asked, and he firmly nodded. "By your time, I haven't been born yet."

"You haven't?" his voice was just a hush and she shook her head with a smile.

"And I won't be, not for many years."

"What about her?" he looked to the Doctor, who was now standing silently staring at a screen.

"Oh, well, I couldn't even tell you when she was born, not by our years. She's hundreds and hundreds of years old," she didn't know where this air of mystery had slipped into her voice, but Artie was hooked.

"But that's not possible…" Then it clicked in his head. "She's not human, is she?" _She wasn't even a she until not too long ago._ She shook her head, and Artie looked at the older woman in awe.

Gemma was looking at her, too, and it wasn't so much with awe in her case as it was with concern. She was getting used to this evasive-until-necessary behavior of the Doctor's, but it didn't make it any less frustrating. Even then, she kept feeling like this was different from any of the other times, like there was much more to this story. _It's like she's waiting for something to happen._

"Right, well we've promised you an adventure, so the question here is where would you like to go?" Gemma turned back to Artie, seeing as she was getting nowhere with the Doctor. "Is there any place you want to see? Anything you'd like to do?"

"I'm kind of hungry," he admitted and, spying his wristwatch, she noticed it was nearly dinner time for him.

"Alright, that's fair. What would you like to eat? What's your favorite?" Gemma asked and the boy thought before answering…

"Pie."

"I… Pie," she repeated. He nodded. Gemma cleared her throat. "Doctor?" she called. No response. "Doctor?" she tried again, louder, and it was like switching a light on. She turned from the screen with a smile.

"Yes, welcome," she nodded to Artie. "Well, this is the TARDIS, it…"

"Yeah, I already told him all of that," Gemma smiled awkwardly. The Doctor paused.

"Time and…"

"Did that."

"Bigger on the…"

"Done."

"Time Lady?"

"Well, no," Gemma replied, and the Doctor started to nod. "Told him you weren't human though." The Doctor reached to straighten her jacket before approaching the boy in the wheelchair. "He's hungry, and it's just about dinner time, isn't there anywhere you could show him where he could eat something special or…" Gemma explained. "He wants pie."

She had no idea what was going on through the Doctor's head, but when presented with this request, she looked downright reluctant. But then she would look at the boy sitting there, and there was something else going on there. Gemma knew the Doctor had said this was an old friend, except they hadn't met yet as far as Artie knew. Was it just strange for her to see him so small? She didn't see how this might be it, or why she felt the need to visit his child self and take him off on a TARDIS ride… The Doctor had so many rules, and she had to wonder if she was breaking any of them in doing this.

"Pie," the Doctor repeated, and she breathed out in nothing short of surrender. "Well it so happens I do know where they serve the best one in all of time," she shrugged casually. Meanwhile, Artie was very interested.

"Can we go? Please? Is it on another planet? Are there going to be aliens?"

"Ah, well, no aliens, and it is on Earth. Indiana," she specified, and Artie almost looked disappointed.

"Indiana? That's one state away."

"Then you're very close to some remarkable pie…" the Doctor congratulated him. The boy was starting to lose some of the shine on his adventure, but the Doctor wasn't done. "But see, here's the thing. To get that pie, we need to go back in time." Artie was listening. "You won't even have been born yet. And after you've had your pie…"

"And an actual meal before that," Gemma pitched in, and the Doctor rolled with it.

"Yes, you like burgers, they've got burgers…" Artie liked burgers. "Not as good as the pie, but…" Gemma stood to direct Artie's chair further into the TARDIS. "And when all that's done, I do have a few more tricks up my dainty sleeve."

"Like what?" Artie asked.

"All in due time," the Doctor flipped a switch and the ship rumbled. "Next stop, Indiana."

TO BE CONTINUED (FRIDAY)


	7. My Name Is, My Name Was

**"Guardian of the Array"**

**7. My Name Is, My Name Was**

_March 2012 – Lima, Ohio_

He'd made her swear. That was one of the last things he'd said to her before he and Rose had gone back to the TARDIS and she had followed the man and woman who would adopt her and become her parents. The Doctor had made her swear never to reveal her true name, where she was really from, and how she'd ended up on Earth, at this time. Padra, the orphaned colony girl from three thousand and some years in the future, had to be hidden, from everyone including her new parents. In her place, Sugar Motta had to be built from the ground up.

It hadn't been so hard, for the most part. When she'd arrived in this place, everything was so different from where she was from, she was inadvertently odd and confused. The kids at school turned her into an outcast for it, and as much as she didn't like that, there were advantages to it. If not too many people paid attention to her, then they wouldn't realize she was a fake, right?

But years had passed, and with each new birthday, she was more confident in her new role, and she didn't want to be the outcast anymore. She did her best to be liked, even if it meant using her parents' wealth to her advantage.

After she'd left Artie and Puck behind, she'd driven home. Her parents weren't there, and she was glad. She went up to her room, shut her door. Walking into her room, she felt tired. Sugar was a shroud she wore all day, but she was heavy to carry. When the day was done, she wanted to put her aside, but that could only ever happen behind her bedroom's closed door. Now she stood in front of the large mirror there on the wall, and she tried to find herself in the image it reflected.

Digging in her purse, she pulled out a small round mirror. Turning her back to the mirror, she swept her hair aside, tugging the back of her shirt down before searching her reflection in the smaller mirror. The white scar there probably looked like any old scar to anyone who might have seen it, but she knew better. It was all she had left, the only proof along with her memories that she was Padra, or that she had been Padra, way back when… She still remembered the burning cut that had resulted in that scar. She remembered her parents, her real parents. Looking at her face, the older she got, she knew she looked a lot like them, especially her mother.

She didn't mean any disrespect to her new parents by saying that the others were her real ones. But they didn't know who she really was, and they never would. It wasn't their fault, but it still meant that a division existed between them. Some days she felt all alone in the world, being the only person in Lima who knew that there had ever been or ever would be a girl named Padra out there. There was no one she could talk to when she felt lonely, and in those times she should have been able to turn to her parents… but she couldn't. There were days she would be angry at the Doctor, for bringing her here when it meant she could never have anyone there she could confide in. It never lasted, because then she had to remind herself that, if he hadn't done that, she could have been dead, or she could have been alive, wishing she wasn't.

Maybe in some ways it had been easy to keep her secret, because in the last decade and some, no one had ever given her reason to believe that secret was in danger. And then today had happened.

She'd come so close to giving herself away when they'd said those words… the Doctor. She knew that, more often than not, the words were harmless and meant something else. But it was all in the way they'd said it, and then she knew it was exactly what she thought they meant. For a moment she'd had to stop altogether, the better to give herself a chance to find her how she was going to find a way out of this. They were fishing, she could tell, but she didn't know why. It made no sense, coming from those boys, and even as they had gone on with their story she knew she wasn't getting it wrong. That only told her louder: get out. She'd lied to them, with only little regret, and she'd driven away.

How did they know? It wasn't possible, unless… What if they'd been manipulated, possessed, or… or even replaced, bad aliens in the shape of her friends. Was she compromised? What could she do? She had no way of contacting the Doctor, or Rose… What if she ran away? She could take enough money, make a fresh start. She would go and no one would ever find her. She'd change her hair, her clothes…

She finally stopped, realizing she was skidding further and further into insanity. She didn't know anything for sure, and she owed that much to her life here, didn't she? Sure, she was alone, but she still had a family and friends who cared for her, and before she left those behind, she had to know she was doing it for the right reason.

Her plan came together, for the next few days at the least. She would start playing 'under the weather' to her parents as soon as they came home, and by morning they would gladly allow her to stay home from school. As surprising as it might have been to some, she didn't like taking advantage of them in any way. They had wanted a child so much, and she had been the answer to this wish. They had shown her all the love in the world, and she knew how lucky she was to have them. If she needed any reasoning to allow herself to go through with this, it was that it could mean the difference between her getting to stay with them and her being forced to run away and never see them again. She'd already lost one set of parents; she didn't ever want to lose another.

TO BE CONTINUED (SUNDAY)


	8. Over a Piece of Pie

**"Guardian of the Array"**

**8. Over a Piece of Pie**

_Somewhere in Indiana, in the year 1987_

The Doctor and Gemma could both see how excited Artie was to see what would be on the other side of those doors. They could all have been playing tricks on him, very elaborate and believable games, but when he saw what was out there, he would know for sure.

"Ready?" Gemma asked the boy.

"Yes," Artie nodded.

"Don't wander off," the Doctor added.

"Got it," he turned his nod to her and she opened the doors.

Gemma would wheel his chair out on to the sidewalk outside, and for a moment the trio stopped to see what was around them: this was not Artie's bedroom at all. The boy let out an audible gasp. The differences could be considered subtle by some, but this was without a doubt the 1980's. Gemma turned a smile to the Doctor.

"Right then, Doctor. To the pie."

The diner was just as the Doctor remembered it, give and take the wear and tear of years. The trio settled around a table near the windows. Artie was the first to grab a menu, still investigating what it meant to be in the past.

"Ah, early summer then," the Doctor appraised, looking out the window.

"Were you hoping for something else? Christmas?" Gemma asked, taking a menu as well.

"I've had all the Christmases I can take for a while," the Doctor admitted, and whatever had motivated this declaration, it disappeared the moment the waitress approached their table.

"Ready to order?" the woman asked, pulling a pad from her apron and a pen from behind her ear. When she saw Artie's wheelchair, she had a split second reaction of sadness for him, but she hid it in a bright smile she turned to him. "Do you know what you want, sweetheart?"

"Can I get a cheeseburger?"

"Sure you can," she scribbled it on the pad. "Comes with a heap of fries, too," she told him.

"Are there pickles in the cheeseburger?"

"There are," she nodded. "Do you want yours without?"

"No!" Artie replied before she could start writing. "I want more," he explained, and she laughed, nodding as she wrote the request in.

"Double pickles for you. And a coke?" He nodded. "Great. How about for dessert?"

"Pie," he smiled.

"Good choice," the waitress tapped his shoulder before turning to the Doctor. "Is this your son?" she asked, and they all paused almost in time with each other. Artie looked to the Doctor, the Doctor looked to Artie, Gemma, sitting next to Artie, across from the Doctor, gave a pointed look. She supposed she could have been the kid's mother, if she'd been just out of high school or sometime close to that. It hadn't dawned on her until then, but the three of them did look like they could have been related.

"Ah, yes… yes, this is Arthur… my son," the Doctor slowly adjusted into a shaky American accent, though Gemma could all but see the woman's mind working it all out in her head.

"Artie," the boy added, and the Doctor gave a jovial laugh that startled Gemma.

"He doesn't like it when I call him Arthur," she told the waitress, who laughed along. With the Doctor's order added to the pad, the waitress now turned to Gemma.

"And you're…" she started, and Artie latched on to her arm.

"She's my aunt," he declared, and for a boy on his first journey, he was rolling with the twists and turns like he'd been at it for years.

"Yes, my… sister," the Doctor pitched in, and Gemma looked at her before turning a smile to the waitress. "My sister Gemma… and I'm Jane," she declared. "We were passing through, and we had to come for the pie."

"So you've heard about our pie then," the waitress sounded proud.

"Yes, my… our brother told us all about it. John… rest his soul," she held a hand to her heart and the waitress gasped. Gemma was trying desperately not to interrupt this little show the Doctor was putting on, and if she was having trouble keeping from laughing, Artie was utterly fascinated. Once the newly created family was left alone, the Doctor turned a satisfied smile to the others, who were staring back at her. "What?" she asked, slipping back into her normal voice.

"Nothing… Sis," Gemma sat back up, while the Doctor tugged at her jacket.

A moment later, the chimes over the door had given a twinkling rattle, announcing the arrival of a new customer. When the man walked in, everyone who saw him greeted him with a smile or a wave, inquiring as to how he was doing and how things were going with the team. By his clothes, he would have been some kind of coach. The Doctor was the only one to be facing toward the door, so she was the only one who saw him at first, and as Gemma was busy listening to Artie as he noticed interesting things in the menu, she paid her no mind.

"Do you see that man?" she still asked, and a few seconds later, Gemma finally looked up.

"Sorry?" she asked.

"That man there, standing at the counter. Take a look, be discreet," she kept her voice low. Gemma hardened and did as told, while Artie kept looking at the menu, oblivious.

"What about him?" Gemma shrugged once she'd turned back to the Doctor. "Looks like he'd be the football coach or something."

"Is that all?" the Doctor asked her, and she nodded. Looking out the window, suddenly the peaceful town felt different. The Doctor spied a few more people, going about their business, who should have raised several alarms by their mere presence but didn't. "Ah… So that's how it is…" she told herself.

"What is?" Gemma asked, just as the waitress returned with their orders. "That was quick," she complimented, and the smell of the food was hard to argue with.

"I'll bring the pie when you're done here," the waitress told them before leaving again.

"Look, whatever it is that's bothering you, can it wait until we've eaten?" Gemma asked the Doctor, looking to Artie, who had already started eating his fries one after the other.

"I suppose it can…" she barely managed to say before the other two both got at their burgers. Even as they ate, Gemma could see something was bugging the Doctor, and she couldn't wait to share it. Artie looked anxious to find out, too, as he didn't get a word in, too busy eating: he was trying to get done fast, sensing something exciting was awaiting them. Gemma had to both tell him to slow down a bit and to make herself eat a little faster so she wouldn't be left behind. They ended up taking the pie to go, or else they might have rushed through it, too. By the time they left the diner, it was hard to know how much time they'd been inside anymore. They were full, and now the Doctor was leading them off somewhere.

"What's gotten into you?" Gemma asked the Doctor, pushing Artie's chair so they didn't fall behind.

"You really don't see them, do you?" the Doctor asked, looking around. Gemma could faintly hear the sonic screwdriver's whirring.

"See what?" she asked.

"Look! There's someone on the bridge!" Artie pointed, and the women turned to look.

As Artie had said, there was someone standing on the bridge rails. Two seconds later, he jumped into the river below. Two more seconds later, Gemma had placed the bag with the pie containers in the boy's lap and kicked off her shoes before running for the river's edge.

TO BE CONTINUED (TUESDAY)


	9. The Jumpers & the Lake

**"Guardian of the Array"**

**9. The Jumpers & the Lake**

_Somewhere in Indiana, in the year 1987_

There'd been no point arguing which one of them would have to take the plunge to go after the jumper from the bridge. Gemma took a dive at the water, spotting the figure within seconds. He wasn't trying to fight back to the surface, but at the same time he didn't fight her when she got hold of him and started pulling him up, and if she wasn't busy trying to get him to the shore, she would have thought it was strange.

"You saved him!" Artie's voice was the first thing she heard after breaking through the water.

"He's not saved yet," the Doctor kept the boy from rolling too close. When Gemma pulled the man on to dry land, the Time Lady nearly lost grip, until her newest companion spoke again.

"What's that?" Artie pointed to the man's arm.

"That is a very good question," she crouched to inspect the markings on the jumper's upper arm, which appeared through the wet sleeve of his shirt: it was flashing, shrinking away like a counter getting every closer to zero. "He's dying."

"I should hope not…" Gemma had already started in her attempts to revive him, and she had never been more thankful for the time she'd spent with her ex, who'd spent his summers working as a lifeguard back when she knew him. He'd insisted how important it could be for someone to know what to do, and she'd teased him, 'accusing' him of only wanting a reason to get closer to her. If they ever went back to her time before she forgot, she'd have to call and thank him, because a minute later, the jumper coughed up a lungful and started to breathe.

She hadn't even noticed he'd changed, not until she sat back and really got a new look at him.

"What…"

"Do you see it now?" the Doctor asked.

"He's an alien!" Artie exclaimed with wonder, and the Doctor held a finger to her lips.

"You knew?" Gemma pushed wet hair from her face.

"Of course I knew. Help me get him into the TARDIS."

The now revealed alien man was still dazed, which made it difficult for his rescuers to carry him. Luckily they were already on their way back to the ship, which Gemma now realized, so they didn't have very far to go. It was a miracle no one saw them all the way through the doors. The Doctor shut those doors behind them as Gemma set down/collapsed with the jumper.

"Are you okay?" Artie asked her, seeing how out of breath she was. "My mom says you're not supposed to go swimming after you eat."

"I'll try to remember that next time this happens," she promised with a cough.

"Where am I?" the alien finally started coming to his senses. He looked around, and suddenly he tried to scramble on to his feet. "You're here to take me away, aren't you?"

"What? No," the Doctor frowned. "You jumped, and my friend here…"

"Sister," Artie reminded her.

"Yes… my… sister," she had to find a way to slip back into her Jane voice, which she eased by clearing her throat first. "She went and got you out and brought you back to life."

"Did I die? Did it work?" the jumper asked, looking down at himself. "Can you see…"

"That you're not human? I could have told you that before. But yes, they do see your true self now," the Doctor explained, pointing to the other two.

"Wait, but how can you see, it only works if…" he started to say, then got quiet.

"What 'only works if,' would that be the thing on your arm that disappeared when you expired?" The alien reached to his arm and looked. "That was what made you look human to the rest of them, yes?" There was no point lying.

"Yes. When we were brought here, we were connected to the array by these shields. They were meant to keep us hidden, so we could lead our lives in peace without people finding us."

"What, like witness protection?" Gemma asked, but the Doctor ignored her.

"Why did you jump?" she asked the alien instead.

"The loophole. It was my idea, to test it."

"What loophole is that?"

"When we die, we are disconnected from the array, then we can be ourselves again."

"But your intention was not to die, so then who was going to revive you after this?" the Doctor asked, and on cue, there was a knock at the TARDIS door.

"Should I get that?" Gemma pointed, but the Doctor had already gone up to the door, attempting to see the person on the other side. After a moment, she sighed, opened the door, yanked someone in, and shut the door again.

"Hey, hey!" there was a young man roughly the same age as the first.

"Is he an alien, too?" Artie asked.

"Welcome, please, join your friend, now I can ask the both of you just what you were thinking," the Doctor brought the second alien to stand with the first.

"We are tired of hiding, and we're not the only ones," the second alien spoke firmly.

"Oh, excellent, more idiots."

"Who are you?" the second alien scoffed.

"Clearly you must have some idea."

"You're not human, I've figured that one out. But you look like them, you have no idea…"

"Before you give your sad story, you might want to see for yourselves just how 'smart' your loophole has turned out to be," the Doctor grabbed the first alien's arm and lifted it for them both to see as the shield meter was beginning to reappear. "Gemma, Artie, what do you see?"

"He looks human again," Gemma answered.

"And there you have it." The jumper and would-be jumper looked deflated by this revelation. "Now I'll assume you were both brought here for a reason. There are some out there who would give everything to be in your position, now don't let this go to waste. Go back out there, and let's keep this between us, is that clear?" She had the commanding tone of a mother scolding her children, and it seemed to work. The two young men nodded quickly and were gone in a flash, running from the TARDIS.

"Remind me never to do anything wrong ever," Gemma smirked. "I should go change," she told the Doctor. As she was turning to go find a change of dry clothes though, she saw Artie looked sad all of a sudden. "What's wrong?"

"You're going to take me home now, aren't you? I asked for pie, and we got it, even if we haven't eaten it yet," he looked to the bag on his lap. The Doctor came up and crouched.

"You want to stay," she guessed, and he nodded. "Well… I never said it was time for you to go yet, did I?" she gave an encouraging smile, and she got one back. "As it happens, I need a second opinion about what's happening here. How would you like to go canvas the neighborhood?"

TO BE CONTINUED (FRIDAY)


	10. The Array Over Us

**"Guardian of the Array"**

**10. The Array Over Us**

_Somewhere in Indiana, in the year 1987_

They would do their best not to seem too obvious as they walked along the town's streets, but it could only work so long, especially with Artie constantly wanting to know if this man or that woman was an alien. To appease him, they had worked it out so the Doctor would push the boy's chair and, when her untracked eyes found one such alien, she would extend her fingers to tap her 'son's' shoulder, so long as he promised not to make a big show of staring at them every time.

In the span of an hour, they had seen twenty-three shielded aliens. They had stopped and talked to some of them as they went, whenever it was possible. They never mentioned who they were, or that they knew what they really were. They maintained their previous story, that Jane, her son Arthur, and her sister Gemma, were new to town, though for the sake of getting more information out of them, they also mentioned they were thinking about settling down in the neighborhood. Gemma would do most of the talking, knowing she could keep the suspicion off of them, even though the Doctor did get a few curious looks. If any of them suspected she wasn't human, same as them, they didn't let up.

"So what exactly is your plan here?" Gemma asked the Doctor. "How many people do you need to speak to…" She stopped when she saw a puppy had somehow appeared at Artie's feet. The little thing was barking, pawing at his legs to try and climb up, which made the boy laugh. He leaned forward and just managed to pick it up and set it into his lap, which got him a face full of puppy kisses.

"Spot!" a little girl's voice called, and Gemma and the Doctor looked up.

"Maybe not so many more," the Doctor answered Gemma's question.

A few hours later, the family of three was coming up the street to the Andrews family's home. After the Doctor had taken up the conversation, small talk had led to noticing how her dear Arthur was getting along well with Mary Andrews' daughters. The younger one had accidentally let the puppy's leash go, and as the three children had been busy with the dog, the presentation of their way in was rapidly noted. Artie had not had time to receive his shoulder tap and, when they'd been left alone, he'd been shocked to find out that Sarah and Molly had been aliens in disguise, too. That budding friendship had led to an invitation from Mary Andrews to Jane and her family to join them for dinner.

"How long before we tell them we know who they really are?" Gemma asked the Doctor. "Maybe we should do it while the children aren't around."

"Why?" Artie cut in.

"Gemma's right," the Doctor told him, already in her Jane voice. "Don't worry, we'll tell you all about it once we're back in the TARDIS," she gave him a wink, and he was appeased.

They were greeted by both Mary and her husband, Thomas. They apologized, explaining that they wouldn't get to meet the last member of their family, their son Joshua, as he was out with friends and wouldn't be home for dinner.

It hadn't taken all that much small talk for the Doctor and Gemma to size up the Andrews couple. They were not the type to attempt the 'loophole.' They were living a quiet life, didn't want to make trouble. Their visitors almost felt bad for pulling them into this. But they had to, and after dinner, while the children had been sent to play, waiting for the dessert to be served, they took their moment.

"There's something you should know," the Doctor spoke up, and slipping back into her regular voice, she could see the husband and wife were suddenly on alert. "My name is not Jane, and this is not my sister, or my son in the other room. The two of them are exactly as they say they are, while I may have misled you on a thing or two, which I do apologize for, but it was necessary."

"I knew it, didn't I tell you?" Thomas turned to his wife. "I told you there was something about her. And you brought her into…"

"We're not here to hurt you," Gemma jumped in. "The Doctor can see you as you really are, that's all."

"The Doctor?" Mary Andrews repeated, and the woman in question raised her hand.

"We came across a pair of young men who have gotten it into their heads that if they die and are revived, they will suddenly be released from this array of yours," the Doctor revealed. Thomas made a sound like he was well aware of this situation, and he didn't approve in the least.

"Yes, we know all about that lot."

"There's been some… unrest," Mary added. "The tension is building among the arrayed community, we can feel it. If it doesn't end soon…"

"They're going to get us caught is what they're doing," Thomas sighed. "We're going to be put in prison, or worse experimented on, killed for sport. They won't understand, none of them. All we want is to live in peace, and some of us are that, peaceful. But the others, they've got what you might call bad habits, and those don't go so easy. They're going to bring all kinds of trouble on this town if they keep it up. They want the array gone, eliminated. They want to expose us all."

"Please," Mary sank back in her chair. "Our children are safe here, or they're supposed to be. If you can help stop this…"

The Doctor had agreed, not bothering to mention that this had been the intention even before they walked into the Andrews' home. As they'd left the house and started back for the TARDIS after a very quiet dessert, Gemma could tell the Doctor was already thinking about their course of action. Judging by the quickening of her pace, the closer they got, maybe she'd figured it out already. They walked back into the ship and were surprised when the Doctor moved to the controls and the ship came alive: they were departing.

"Wait, I thought we were going to help them," Gemma motioned for Artie to hang on.

"We are," the Doctor didn't stop.

"But we're leaving," Artie pointed out.

"Small detour."

"Detour where?" Gemma asked.

"To pick up the cavalry, you might say. We're going to need help, and I know just the ones."

TO BE CONTINUED (SUNDAY)


	11. A Missing Face

**"Guardian of the Array"**

**11. A Missing Face**

_March 2012 – Lima, Ohio_

It had been two days since they'd seen her, two days since they'd gone with her to get Slushies. That had only been a ruse, of course, all the better to get to talk to her and ask if she'd ever heard of the Doctor. But almost as soon as they'd brought it up, Sugar had mysteriously been called away and she'd dropped them there in front of the stores with a ten dollar bill. They'd watched her drive away and wondered if she had just given them the slip.

They had it all in mind to ask her what that had been about the next day in school, but she had been absent. They'd called her, as the dutiful friends they were, but she hadn't picked up, not for them or anyone else, and so the mystery spread, only to be thickened by her absence on this second day.

Some of them would say that she was home, sick in bed, or even in the hospital, though they thought for sure they would have gotten word if that was the case. Others, well aware of her parents' means, had the idea that the Motta family had gone on a sudden and unplanned vacation, even if it meant pulling their daughter out of school. Then there were those who simply figured she was ditching class, and who could blame her, with how bored they were.

Artie and Puck had a different way of seeing her absence, and how could they not, when they were all but certain they'd caused it.

At lunch, they'd gone and sat on their own, shooing away anyone who might attempt to join them by saying that Artie was tutoring Puck on history, or math, or whatever he might need tutoring for, which Puck assured Artie was pretty much every subject.

"She's not sick, you know she's not," Puck shook his head when they were alone again.

"No, I don't think she is either," Artie agreed.

"Then we were right? She does know who the Doctor is?"

"She has to. What other reason would she have to hide? But why does she think she has to hide? We didn't say anything to her that said she'd be in trouble if she told the truth."

"Maybe it didn't go well," Puck shrugged.

"With the Doctor?" Artie frowned.

"I don't know, but it can't always have gone well, right?"

Artie knew, from his story and from Puck's that danger tended to go hand in hand with an encounter with the Doctor, and when he tried to imagine Sugar on the TARDIS, Sugar with aliens, he didn't know that she would have kept her cool.

"Do you think he got angry at her for freaking out or something?"

"I wouldn't be surprised," Puck chuckled. "This is Sugar we're talking about."

"Well, hey," Artie gave him a look.

"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that," he cleared his throat. "So now what do we do? She can't stay home forever, unless she wants to get home schooled or transferred. She's gonna have to come back eventually, do we just wait for her?"

"Who knows how long she'll stay away, maybe until after 'Miss Harrison' has gone away, and then what are we going to do? No, if we're going to get to the bottom of this and not let our chance go by, we have to find out why Sugar ran off, while 'Ginny' is still here."

"Alright, today after last period, we'll go to her place and try to get her to talk to us," Puck agreed. After a moment of silence, Artie spoke again.

"Have you noticed anything different about her these days?"

"Who, Sugar?"

"No, Gem… Gi… Miss Harrison," Artie finally muttered.

"Different how?"

"I'm not sure how to explain it, but she is different, something about her. It's like she's walking taller, like she has a new purpose in life." Puck thought about it, bringing the woman's image back in his head.

"Yeah… I guess she has," he finally nodded. "What do you think it is? Maybe she met someone?" he smirked.

"Why would that…" Artie started, then understanding, he frowned. He didn't need that image in his head, not with her. "No, whatever it is, it has to be about whatever she's doing here, has to be," he insisted.

"She's subbing for biology this time, right? Sugar was in her class. Who else was in that one, maybe they can find out…"

"We're not bringing anyone else into this, not now," Artie shook his head. "For now let's just worry about Sugar. We're going to her house after school and that's it."

When lunch was over, the boys had gone their separate ways. They didn't have any common classes, so they would meet up again at the end of the day, as decided, unless something else came up in the meantime, which wasn't likely.

Artie was in his second to last class of the day, the period nearly done, when his name came up over the intercom. The rest of his class was 'so kind' to send him off with hoots and hollers, wondering what trouble he'd gotten himself into.

He had been asked into a room he knew by the number couldn't have been the principal's office, and he was right. When he got to the door with the correct number, he rolled up to an empty classroom.

"Hello? I was called out of class?" he looked inside, and he stopped at once when he saw who was waiting for him, sitting at the teacher's desk.

"Please, come in," Ginny Harrison, motioned for him to enter, and he slowly wheeled up to stop next to the desk. "I didn't pull you away from anything too important, did I?" she asked.

"I, no… I mean, yes, I…" He didn't know how to respond to her. Part of his instincts were to speak to her as Gemma, kind and friendly, casual, informal. But even if he didn't believe her as Ginny the sub, he still felt the need to think of her as a teacher, and therefore to address her in a formal tone, which would include not badmouthing his other classes and teachers.

"Good," she smiled. "I think it's time you and I had a talk, Arthur. And I have a feeling you know what it's about."

TO BE CONTINUED (TUESDAY)


	12. Lessons & Friends

**"Guardian of the Array"**

**12. Lessons & Friends**

_Inside the TARDIS_

Gemma stared at the screen like a child who'd been sent to stand in the corner. Minutes before, the Doctor had told her to go and sit and read the information which had been set for her to study. It had not been long that she'd realized it had absolutely nothing to do with what they were doing in Indiana, which begged the question: couldn't this wait? But the Doctor insisted, and rather than being given a long winded lecture as to the reasons why, Gemma had been left no other choice, so she'd taken her seat and started to read.

She was remembering now, after having been distracted by the events at the lake and dinner with the Andrews family. She was remembering how strange the Doctor had been behaving before they went and got Artie, stranger than usual at least. There were those questions she'd been asking, and now this. If she hadn't known any better, she would have thought there was something else going on or about to be going on. The problem was any time she tried to suggest that was the case, the Doctor changed the subject. If she didn't want to talk about something, no one would force it out of her.

After Gemma had been set to her reading, the Doctor had disappeared off somewhere else, telling the others to stay where they were. For a minute or so, there'd been silence as she read, but then…

"If you're human, how come you're here?" he asked, and she looked up.

"I'm, I guess you could say I'm a companion," she explained. "I travel with the Doctor."

"But you're American, aren't you? Like me?"

"Yes, like you."

"What time are you from? You said you weren't born yet, when I'm from," he went on, and Gemma chuckled, stepping away from the screen.

"What's with all the questions all of a sudden?"

"I was just wondering why the Doctor keeps you here, so maybe I could…" He hesitated now, and she knew what he'd been getting at. He wanted to be a companion, too.

"Well, the Doctor's always told me, when he's taken someone on to travel with him, the reasons all depended on the person, you know?"

"What about you?" he asked as she crouched before him.

"Me? Well… Between you and me, let's say I'm repaying a debt. Do you know what that…" She stopped, hearing the click of shoes approaching. Springing back up, she returned to the screen to show she'd been reading.

"Wow," Artie blinked, and Gemma turned to discover what had earned this response. As suspected, the Doctor's absence had been for a change in wardrobe.

"Do you like?" she asked the boy, looking down at herself.

"What's with the Victorian get up?" Gemma asked, and the Doctor simply pointed back to the screen. The companion sighed and went back to reading.

"Right, you two, don't go anywhere, I shouldn't be long. I trust that you will listen, unlike certain others."

"Why can't we go?" Artie asked.

"Because your aunt there is busy," the Doctor smiled at him. "And as for you, I'm afraid your chair is a tad too modern for this place. Don't wander off," she repeated herself before stepping out of the ship.

It might have been just as well that she had a legitimate reason for leaving them both behind. To be honest, part of her was both curious for and dreading this visit all at once. She hadn't been back in some time, not since her last regeneration. Now on top of getting them to say yes, she'd have to convince them she was who she said she was, which could either go fairly easy or absolutely wrong.

Coming up to the house, she found her perspective of it had changed some. Of course she was nearly ten inches shorter than she used to be, and she had quickly developed a new respect for heeled shoes. For all the reminders of past times she was about to endure, this one was the one she was most likely to endure.

Her knock at the door would soon be answered, and as expected, there was absolutely zero recognition in the young woman's face. "Yes?"

"Hello, Jenny," the Doctor tipped her head forward. The hint of familiarity she'd spoken into the words had been enough to get her attention.

"How… How may I help you?"

"Oh, in so many ways," she'd lowered her hand into her pocket, and she could see the girl's eyes follow the movement. When her hand re-emerged, holding the sonic screwdriver, there was an audible intake of breath. She stood there for a moment, blinking, almost crying.

"Please, come in," she stepped aside.

As soon as she was inside, the door had been shut, locked, and Jenny had disappeared further into the house. The Doctor didn't have to wait long. Jenny returned and silently guided her into the room, where the veiled woman waited.

"Come closer," said Vastra. This could go one of two ways, one of which would be very unpleasant, but the Doctor had nothing to fear. She approached. "Show me," Vastra asked, and the Doctor produced the screwdriver. One of Vastra's hand closed around her wrist, and the other pried the object from her. She observed it for several seconds, before looking back to observe the stranger more closely. The Doctor allowed for her hand to remain as it was. When it was released, it was so that Vastra could pull the veil back, revealing her green scaled face and currently stunned blue eyes before she looked to Jenny. "Find Strax, bring him now."

"Is it really…" she began to say.

"Jenny," Vastra interrupted her. She looked to the stranger once more before fleeing as requested. "I'd never have believed it," Vastra slowly returned the sonic.

"Well, as regenerations go, I'd say this one was the least expected," the Doctor confided.

"I'd honestly started to believe we'd seen the last of you, Doctor," Vastra spoke in return, and there was still hesitation for her to use the name when staring at the woman standing before her. "I'd still like to know what happened after the last time we did see you."

"And there'll be time plenty for that later, I swear. For now, I'm afraid this isn't a social call." A moment later, Jenny had returned, having found Strax. The Sontaran came into the room and turned to their visitor. He looked mildly disturbed.

"Regeneration," he sneered. "A glorious death, and then more life."

"Don't say that," Jenny gave him a look.

"If you don't mind," Vastra had a glare of her own to give, while Strax stood by his claim. "Let's get down to it, shall we?" she turned back to the Doctor.

Once they'd gone and sat to hear the reason for the Doctor's visit, they were able to understand what she expected of them. She needed decoys, needed spies.

"Then that means… You're going to make them look human?" Jenny was stunned, turning to the pair of them. Vastra and Strax had varying levels of discomfort at the thought.

"They will only be viewed as such by proper humans, like you," the Doctor explained. "I will make it so the array recognizes you as two of its subjects, and then the shield will activate around you."

It came down to Vastra and Jenny. Strax looked willing to go either way. But finally it was decided. They would go. The Doctor thanked them.

"Come, there are some people I'd like you to meet."

TO BE CONTINUED (FRIDAY)


	13. Here Come the Decoys

**"Guardian of the Array"**

**13. Here Come the Decoys**

_Inside the TARDIS_

It was hard to concentrate on the Doctor's 'assigned reading,' first because she didn't want to do it, and second because she had quickly noticed Artie's eyes drifting to the doors. He wanted to see what was out there, and Gemma couldn't blame him. She knew what it felt like, to know that outside those doors they would find a different time or world than the one they lived in. That kind of thing had only ever existed in books and movies and things like that, at least until the Doctor swept them away. For a boy as young as Artie, the pull would feel that much stronger, and she could sympathize. But then the Doctor had been right, he couldn't just roll out there with that chair, it would look completely out of place.

"Hey," she called to him, and his head snapped back toward her like he'd been caught doing something he wasn't supposed to. "She'll be back soon," Gemma smiled.

"I know," Artie nodded, though he casually wheeled away from the door. He focused instead on the controls, staring at all the different switches and knobs and lights… So long as he didn't throw them into the Jurassic period, he could do all the looking he wanted. And she'd keep reading.

Then finally they could hear voices nearing the TARDIS and they looked up just as the doors opened and the Doctor walked in, accompanied by three strangers, two of them aliens and all of them in clothing matching the Doctor's. Artie was not so used to seeing aliens that actually didn't look human. Up until the jumper, he had seen none, and now he was seeing his second and third. The novelty was still very much alive in him, and he stared in awe at the lizard woman and the sort of stocky potato man. Gemma had learned months ago not to stare.

"Right, introductions," the Doctor paused once the doors were shut. "You have before you Madame Vastra, a Silurian," she provided for Artie.

"She looks like a lizard," he noted.

"For good reason," Vastra replied with a bow of the head.

"And this is Jenny Flint, as human as you are, and Vastra's wife," the Doctor went on, catching a smile from Gemma.

"Will she be posing as our sister, too?"

"Sister?" Jenny looked to the Doctor, not quite caught up on this part of the plan.

"She'd certainly fit the bill. Don't suppose you could pull off an American accent, could you?" the Doctor turned to her.

"I can try," Jenny looked from the Doctor to Gemma and back.

"Lastly, this is Commander Strax, of the Sontaran Empire," the Doctor carried on the introductions, making a point of looking to Artie so he would not state what this one looked like.

"What seems to be the problem here?" Strax was looking back at Artie in his chair. Instead of answering him, the Doctor now came to presenting her two companions.

"This young man here is Arthur," she told the trio. Artie didn't even bother correcting her anymore. Actually, coming from her it sounded alright, not like when his mother said it, which usually meant he was in trouble. "If anyone asks, once we get back to Indiana," she started, now returning to her other voice, "He is my son, and I am his mother, Jane, while this is my sister," she pointed back to Gemma, who raised her hand in a half wave.

"Hello," she nodded.

"That's Gemma Lucas. She may well be able to help you on the accent," the Doctor told Jenny.

"I finished my reading, does that mean I'm off the hook on that? I can help with the clothes," Gemma looked to the three of them in their Victorian clothes.

"Absolutely not," the Doctor pointed to the screen, and Gemma marched back to it in utter frustration. "Besides, the shield will deal with Vastra and Strax. That only leaves you, follow me," she ushered Jenny off to get changed.

For the brief time the Doctor was gone, there was an awkward silence between the four left on their own, until Vastra stepped up to Artie.

"What happened to you, child?" she asked.

"I had an accident," Artie simply replied. He didn't know if they would know what a car was. Looking at the pair of them just didn't make sense. They were aliens, but they were dressed like they were from the past. He'd always pictured aliens as looking like they were from the future, or at least from space.

"Right, Jenny will be ready in a moment," the Doctor returned. "You two, sleeves up," she commanded. When they had complied, the Doctor pulled out her sonic screwdriver, fixed the setting. "This will either work, or it won't," she announced before aiming it at Vastra's upper arm. It took a few seconds, but finally they watched as the symbols flared into life. "Well, that could have been a complete disaster," the Doctor sounded pleased, moving to do the same to Strax. "The shield will activate once we land and you step out of the TARDIS," she explained. "Which reminds me…" she went, and soon they were off, back on their way to 1987 Indiana.

"They'll look human," Gemma pointed out. "What about behaving it?"

"Ah. Yes. Good point," the Doctor turned back to their two spies. She wasn't worried about Vastra. Strax, on the other hand…

"We will infiltrate the human camp, Doctor," Strax declared solemnly. "In the event of our capture, we are prepared to do what is necessary."

"What does that mean?" Artie asked.

"Nothing, nothing at all," the Doctor quickly replied.

"I will deal with him," Vastra assured her.

The trip back hadn't been very long. The Doctor was the first to walk out, making sure no one would be around to spot the small group coming out of the even smaller blue box.

"Right, out with you," she waved for them to step forward.

Vastra came first, slow and cautious, followed by Strax. Artie and Gemma were just joining them when they suddenly looked at their arms.

"What do you see?" the Doctor asked the two. By the stunned looks on their faces, she didn't need their answer: they saw Vastra and Strax as human, even though they themselves only saw their own hands, as they truly were.

"Did it work, Doctor?" they could hear Jenny's voice from inside, and a moment later she emerged from the TARDIS. She stopped where she stood the moment her eyes landed on the woman with the flowing dark hair and blue eyes and recognized her wife.

The Doctor had never seen the Silurian look anything that could be defined as shy, but there was something of that in her face, maybe not shy but something like uncertainty. She was not herself in her lover's eyes in that moment, she was the thing many of her people despised, and it made her uncomfortable.

But there was no more or less love in the young woman's eyes, as Jenny went up to her, tentatively reaching to touch her face.

"How strange," Jenny blinked, fascinated. "I can't feel the scales at all. I know they're there, but I can't find them." Vastra still wouldn't speak, so Jenny leaned in to her ear, whispering something only for her. When she pulled back, the now not-so-lizard woman gave a smile.

"Doctor?" Gemma called to her, and she came over. "Please tell me I don't have to stay in there to read."

"No, actually you don't. But, there is something else you'll need to do."

TO BE CONTINUED (SUNDAY)


	14. Dear Arthur

**"Guardian of the Array"**

**14. Dear Arthur**

_March 2012 – Lima, Ohio_

When she said the name, it felt like the ground dropped out from under them. He could see something different in her eyes, and he was almost sure he knew what it meant, but he didn't dare to assume it was what he thought, not yet.

"Miss Harrison?" he blinked, and she smiled, standing up to go and shut the door.

"I think you and I both know that's not my name," she told him, turning back.

"We do?" he asked; what if she was just messing with him, trying to trip him up, to catch him for following her in the halls or something.

"I'm sure the last few months must have been very confusing for you. I had a good idea that you'd recognize me the second you saw me, but I had to play like none of it was true, and I apologize for that. But now that's changed, so now I can be honest with you." He was still doubtful.

"Honest about what?" he opened it up. If she wasn't actually pulling his chain, then she'd be able to prove it.

"About the fact that I am Gemma Lucas, a companion of the Doctor, and that she and I took you on the TARDIS when you were eight years old," she told him, and to hear the words from her was like being liberated after months of insanity.

"I knew it…" he breathed, and she laughed. But then he understood something else. "Why are you telling me now?" he had to ask.

"I told you, things have changed."

"What things? What are you doing here?" It had been bugging him from the day he saw her for the first time, and he was only just hoping that he would find out, but his gut told him it was too good to be true, and she wouldn't go that far.

"It's a long story, and I might get to tell you eventually, but it won't be today."

"Fair enough," he agreed. They had been right though, him and Puck. There had been something different about her this time, and maybe this was it. She was going to get to tell the truth, or part of it at least. What else had changed that he didn't know about? "So you're telling me because things have changed, but you can't tell me what those things are."

"That's part of it," Gemma nodded.

"What's the other part?"

"What do you think?" she stared at him. "You, and Puck, sneaking around, trying to catch me out…" she told him, with 'mystery' in her voice.

"Ah… So you knew about that?" Artie was promptly chastened.

"Of course I did. You two aren't exactly spies. I also know you tried to recruit Sam."

"Yeah, that didn't work," he admitted.

He wasn't going to mention Sugar unless she did, or she gave him reason to. They had been getting closer, he could feel it. Was this the real reason why she had come out with it to him?

"Listen to me, because this is very important, alright?" Gemma crouched down to be closer to eye level with him. "No one can know about this yet. Not even Puck. There will be a time where that changes, but until then, the less people know, the better. Do you understand me?"

They were supposed to go to Sugar's that afternoon. If Gemma told him no one else was supposed to know the truth, then he would do as she said. Only that would mean lying. He would have to try and stop them going to Sugar's, maybe. He'd have to try and pull Puck away from this, somehow, without tipping his hand. How could he do that? After everything they'd done already?

"I understand," he almost lowered his head.

"Thank you," Gemma told him, and he looked back to her, smiling weakly.

"There's something I have to know," he said after a beat.

"Artie," she sighed.

"Please, it won't make a difference, it's just something that's been bugging us. Please?" She hesitated, but finally she nodded. "I told Puck about my story, with you and the Doctor, and he told me his, only the Doctor he told me about…"

"Was a man?" she guessed.

"Yes! So, what does it mean? Are there multiple Doctors, or…"

"No," she cut him off. "They're the same person," she smirked at the stunned look on his face. "I didn't know about this in the beginning. It's something the Doctor does, when near death. It's called regeneration. Puck's Doctor, who was a man, is the same as your Doctor, who's a woman, only three regenerations earlier." Artie looked like he was about to speak, and Gemma held a finger up. "Can't tell him that, or he'll know we talked," she pointed out, and he frowned. "I'm sorry, that's just how it has to be for the moment."

"Where do you go, when you leave here?" he now asked.

"My apartment," she answered.

"That's not what I mean," Artie shook his head. "You're always running off, and you're always late…"

"Not always, I've gotten better," Gemma defended herself.

"And Puck remembers you were…"

"Artie, you can't ask me these things," she stopped him. "Not now, I told you. Can't we just…" she gestured between the two of them with a sigh and a smile. "Do you have any idea how hard it's been to pretend not to know you? It's been years for you, but it's been months for me."

"It has?" he asked, surprised, and she nodded. "So when you came here for the first time…"

"It was only days after we took you home," she revealed. This was just the kind of thing that still fascinated him after all these years, this knowledge that two people could exist together, having experienced things at a different pace the way they had. He and Gemma were both here now, having each lived these two moments of 1987 Indiana and 2012 Ohio, only for one there had been years since where there had only been days, now months, for the other.

"I didn't know you were a teacher though, you never told me that back then," he told her.

"No, now, Ginny Harrison is a teacher, not me," she shook her head, then smirked. "Don't tell anyone, alright?" He smirked back.

"I won't."

TO BE CONTINUED (TUESDAY)


	15. Welcome to the Neighborhood

**"Guardian of the Array"**

**15. Welcome to the Neighborhood**

_Somewhere in Indiana, in the year 1987_

Thanks to their dinner with the Andrews family, the Doctor and Gemma had been able to discover just what was awaiting Vastra and Strax once they landed in town. For instance, they knew that shortly after their arrival, the 'welcoming committee' would somehow find them. They would take care of finding the new arrivals a home, which would be furnished and waiting for them or any others who would be brought to their little town. They also knew that they would need to have their cover stories straight already, that they had been counseled on the way in, assisted to come up with names and some kind of story.

In this case, the easiest solution was to have the two of them pretend to be married. The suggestion had gone over about as well as the Doctor had anticipated, and she was relieved that no weapons had been brandished at any time. They had gotten this far now, there was no chance of backing out, so for that they had agreed to soldier on. It was going to require feats of extraordinary strength for the Silurian and the Sontaran to pass as two people in love, so anything they could manage to do that would at least pass for anything close to the mark would have to do.

They had left it up to Artie to name them. The boy had stared at them long and hard, letting their new human faces guide his choices. What those faces had given him were the names Reginald and Moira Finch. Gemma was impressed, and she agreed that the names would fit them well. Strax had taken the name and gone about it as thespian-like as he could muster. Jenny was completely fascinated to see him as human, with frankly much more of a range of motion than he usually had. Knowing what he was meant to look like, this transformation made this trip so very worth the pains she had envisioned. Strax at least had the fact that he would appear human working for him, but he would still come off as the strangest of men if he wasn't careful, and this being him, there was no way to tell.

Vastra had been quietly staring at her hands while the rest of them were taking in the show that was Strax, 'finding' Reginald Finch. She still saw herself the way she was, but she knew the humans didn't, knew Jenny didn't, and she knew why they were here, knew what they were trying to do, but she couldn't help but think how it bothered her. After a moment, she closed her hands in on themselves and turned back to the Doctor again. "Do you know where this person is?" she asked the other woman.

The Andrews couple had not wanted to bring it up at first, the Doctor had noticed, but then they had said it: the array had a guardian. It was this person's appointed task to assure the uninterrupted functioning of the shields that kept the aliens of the town appearing human to the rest of its citizens. The identity of this person was kept a secret, and with the problems that had begun to brew in town, they could understand why. All it would take would be for the guardian to be revealed, and the revolt would be able to remove him or her, to shut down the array and expose all those living under the protection of a shield, which was probably why this person was kept a secret.

The Andrews had no idea who it was, and the Doctor was confident it wasn't either of them. Regardless, the task would be clear. On top of discovering what the other side was planning to do, they would have to suss out if there were any inklings as to the guardian's identity. The Doctor and the trio of humans would have to see if they could find the guardian, too, so they could protect him or her.

"I swear, if I didn't know you hadn't planned this," Gemma told the Doctor, looking between her and their new sister.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Jane, Gemma, Jenny… I'd believe it." With both the Doctor and Jenny changed from Victorian clothing to the late 1980's like they should be, the three women were ready to be sisters, with Artie there as son to one and nephew to two.

This was going to be the last time the two teams would be able to interact directly without having to maintain their covers. Vastra and Strax needed to get away from the rest of them and soon, or the so-called welcoming committee would notice them all and put an end to their plans before they'd ever really begun. So with a quick farewell, 'Team Human' had set out back into town.

"Do I really look alright?" Jenny would ask Gemma, staring down at her clothes, a much brighter and colorful lot than she was used to. "I mean…" she caught herself and, after a moment to think about it, she took up again in an effort to reproduce her 'sister's' voice, "This is what they dress like, and the hair…"

"That wasn't bad," Gemma complimented with a smile. "And, yes, you'll fit right in," she promised. Jenny looked pleased with herself. "Vastra will be fine," she added, sensing this was on her mind more than anything.

"Moira," Jenny corrected seriously, as though speaking her wife's true name would end up getting her in trouble. "Moira will be fine. She can take care of herself, as can I." The accent would slip when she talked about her, and she went quiet, to find herself again. "Where are we going now?" she asked, back in her new voice.

"Nowhere in particular for now, I'm afraid," the Doctor replied. "We need to find the guardian."

"But it could be any one of the aliens and you're the only one who can see them," Gemma pointed out. The Doctor realized this, and she had a thought.

"Arthur, glasses, please?" she held out her hands. The boy hesitated before handing them over. The Doctor was careful not to be too obvious about it as she passed the sonic over the lenses before returning them.

"Tell me what you see." He put them back on and startled.

"There's two over there by the post office!" Artie declared. "And one there on the bike!"

"Good, don't stare," the Doctor told him. "Now there are two of us who can see them, so let's split up. Gemma, take him with you and get a look around. I have all the confidence you can spot out any curiosities should you find them. Jenny and I will do the same."

"Fine, we can do that," Gemma agreed, giving Artie a 'we've got this' kind of smile and getting one back.

"Also, don't forget what we've talked about," the Doctor stared her down, and Gemma sighed, moving off with her pretend nephew and his special glasses.

They would end up at the park, when Artie first heard the children laughing and shouting. He could see that a few of them had shields on them, and deciding it was worth a shot, they had approached them. The children were friendly, which was something of a relief. It made Gemma feel secure in letting him go play with them while she sat nearby on a park bench and, for a few moments at least, closed her eyes and worked on what the Doctor had told her to practice.

TO BE CONTINUED (FRIDAY)


	16. Under a Kindness

**"Guardian of the Array"**

**16. Under a Kindness**

_Somewhere in Indiana, in the year 1987_

Strax had started reaching for her arm, reasoning that as human spouses they would do such a thing, and Vastra could only remind herself it had to be done. She allowed him to – clumsily – get his arm crossed with hers, all the while reminding him of what would happen if he put his hands where he shouldn't. She knew he didn't completely understand what she was referring to, just as she knew that the threat of an altercation was not the way to get the Sontaran in line. Regardless, he never did cross the line, so they never had to find out how that would have ended.

"You remember the story now," she muttered to him as they walked along, waiting to be found. She tried to look like someone who would have had cause to be sent to this place, someone who wouldn't know completely how to react to being there, which wasn't too much of a stretch to begin with.

"I am Reginald Finch," he recited firmly. "I was born January 17th…"

"Yes, alright, you've made your point," she cut him off. "Then you'll know the second one as well, the story of how we were sent here."

"I have an excellent memory. Nothing gets by once it has been learned," he assured her.

"That better be true. I believe we've been sighted. Let me do the talking."

"But I am the husband," he protested.

"Then be a good husband and keep your mouth shut," she spoke curtly before willing an uncertain look toward the pair walking their way. The man was old, shuffling along with a cane, while the girl at his side looked more youthful than young. "Are you the people we were told about?" Vastra asked.

"Indeed we are," said the girl with a warm voice. "My name is Lynette Jones." Her skin was as blue as the TARDIS, possibly brighter.

"Is it?" Vastra asked. Lynette Jones laughed.

"Well it is here," she conceded. "And I'd like you to meet Malcolm Tucker," she gestured to the man, who was smaller even than Strax, though this may have been due to the curve of his back. Now Vastra wondered if he might have been younger than she'd previously estimated due to his carriage and the use of the cane. It might have been that maintaining the human posture was not in his species' way, and he was forced to compensate. Actually, now that she was thinking this, his face did look young enough.

"Of course," she recovered, turning back to the blue woman. "I… My name is… Moira Finch," she informed the pair of them. "And this is my husband, Reginald," she gestured to Strax, still stuck to her at the arm. Strax stood up as straight and tall as he ever could.

"He's not really though, is he?" Malcolm Tucker spoke for the first time, and his voice was about as misshapen as his spine. Vastra wondered whether this shield could change what they sounded like, too. She opened her mouth to respond, but Lynette spoke first.

"Don't worry, it won't matter, not so long as you have your stories and you stick to them. Can you do that?" she asked, looking from one newcomer to the other.

"We certainly can," said Vastra.

"Excellent. Then let me show you to your new home."

They'd followed the blue woman and the bent-backed man for several minutes, until they came to a stop before a two-story house. It was smaller than their home back in London, but it was still sizable. It looked like it had been kept in good form, and as they went inside, it was clear the place had been made ready, for whatever time where it would find itself occupied. Vastra had never been in this era, this part of the world, but she could surmise that it was fitting on either count. Nothing looked lived in just yet; that would be up to them, wouldn't it?

Lynette and Malcolm had not stuck around long. As the Doctor had told them, they would have been told just about everything they needed to know while on their way, so the welcoming committee only just gave them a tour – or Lynette did, as Malcolm had gone to sit, exhausted from the walk, and wasn't keen on stairs to begin with. After the tour, they'd been told that, if they were not ready to try the grocery store yet, they could get food from the diner they'd passed on their way to the house. And then they'd gone, and Vastra and Strax were alone again. Vastra let out a breath.

"I highly doubt this diner will have what I'm looking for," she told herself, moving to look out the window. There were children playing in the street, running and laughing. One boy had features reminding her of a dog.

"What is our task now?" Strax asked her.

"We wait, until our arrival is noticed," she told him, then paused. "It appears we won't have long to wait," she informed him.

In the house next to the one across the street, she had just noticed someone standing at their own window, before disappearing. Vastra waited and, just as she suspected, no more than two minutes later, a man and woman exited the house. By the looks of them, they were the dog boy's parents. They didn't come to their house though, not right away. First, the woman had gone to the house next to hers, while the man went across the street and went further than Vastra could see. Each of them had soon returned, alone, and together they had walked up to her house. Vastra retreated, turning to Strax.

"They're coming."

"Now?"

"Word travels fast," she told him, a moment before the bell rang. Strax had started to move to answer, but then Vastra stopped him. "No, let me," she told him. "Go in the other room until I call you, understand?" He said nothing and went, which was as good as an answer. When Vastra opened the door, she presented herself as welcoming but some amount of restraint, as she imagined someone would, if they were really in her position.

"Yes?"

"Hello," said the dog woman. "We saw the real estate agents leaving, so we thought we'd come and introduce ourselves."

"Real est… Yes," she stopped and started again. "They were so kind as to show us here. Please, come in," she said this in a way that might indicate she was trying to be courteous, but at the same time she didn't completely trust them yet. "I'm Moira Finch, my husband and I only just arrived."

"My name is Anna Stevens, and this is my husband, Richard. At least that is who you will know us as around here," Anna went on, and Vastra sensed a change in the woman's tone. She couldn't well pretend like she couldn't see as well as they could that none of them were who the humans would see them as. "I am Toler, and this is my mate, Daven. Now, let's try this again."

"You may call me Vastra," she continued to show herself on guard. They would have seen she hadn't come alone. "Strax, please join me again," she called out.

"Are they gone?" his voice emerged from further in the house.

"No, they are not."

"Then you will call me Reg…"

"Strax, be quiet and come here!" she demanded, and finally he returned. "This is… a friend," she informed the neighbors.

"You didn't come here together by choice, did you?" asked Richard/Daven.

"What gave that away?" Vastra scoffed. The dog people looked at one another, exchanging silent words.

"No need to hide. You are among friends here."

TO BE CONTINUED (SUNDAY)


	17. Finding & Exploring

**"Guardian of the Array"**

**17. Finding & Exploring**

_Somewhere in Indiana, in the year 1987_

The Doctor could see before long that it wouldn't be so easy with Jenny. The young woman was doing the best she could, but that best was impeded by concern for her wife, and there was only so much that could be done to help it. The Doctor could see her every so often catching herself in this and forcing herself to get back on track.

If it wasn't enough that she was worried for Vastra though, they were in a place so different from what she knew. Sure, she had travelled in time before, but there was something undeniably specific about this time and place, and it was something Jenny Flint had never experienced. Every now and again she would come across something and get curious or confused.

"I'm sorry," she said after a while. "I'm not being very helpful, am I?"

"You'll have no complaints from me," the Doctor promised with a kind smile, and it cheered Jenny up. They had to keep going, keep observing, which was about to become complicated all over again, when a trio of young men came to fall in step with them without their being able to say a word. The Doctor saw that these were humans and was about to address them, to tell them to leave, when one of them addressed Jenny.

"We've never seen you around here before."

"No, you haven't," she told him.

"We should do something about that, don't you think?" he went on, and the Doctor could see where this was going, so she tried to intervene, but it was too late.

"No, I don't think," Jenny replied, the same way she'd spoken before.

"Oh, so that's how it is," the boy came off insulted and like he was either going to get Jenny to say yes to his offer or make her wish she had.

"Now, sister," the Doctor tried to remind her of what they were there for. Jenny was looking at her like she really wanted to be allowed to hit the boy, and when she didn't get a yes, she frowned. "Run along, boys, if you know what's best. Trust me." Maybe they'd seen something in Jenny's eyes telling them the Doctor wasn't putting it mildly, but finally they left, with a barely disguised hurry in their shuffle. "Feel better?" the Doctor asked Jenny.

"I do, actually," she admitted.

"Good, now let's keep looking."

X

Gemma didn't know how long she'd been sitting on the park bench with her eyes closed, but when she opened them again she had a brief moment of panic like maybe she'd look up and Artie would be gone. But he wasn't. He was still there and, as she saw, he wasn't alone. He had made some friends, two boys who must have been about the same age as he was. She couldn't tell if they were human or not, though she imagined if Artie was speaking with them, then there was a chance that they were. Maybe she could try and get his attention so he could give her some kind of signal…

"Is that your son?" a woman's voice startled her and she looked over to find two other women sitting on the bench next to hers. How long had they been there and did they see her before?

"No, he… he's my nephew," she told them. "What about them, are they…" Seeing how one of the boys with Artie and the woman speaking to her were black, while the other boy and the other woman were white, she had no trouble following when the woman explained.

"That one there is my son, Jack. And that one is Karen's son Timothy. I'm Daphne, by the way," she stretched out her hand. Gemma scooted over and shook the hand.

"I'm Gemma, that's Artie," she smiled.

Much like with the Andrews family, Daphne and Karen, both single mothers who shared the house they lived in, had been very welcoming to the strangers, and seeing as Artie, Jack, and Timothy had bonded well enough, aunt and nephew had scored themselves another invitation. If they really were aliens, she wondered if maybe this was their way of getting to know strangers, to see if they were trustworthy. Or maybe they were simply that inviting. Or they were human. She didn't know, and even as they were headed for the house shared by the two mothers, Gemma never got the time to even covertly ask Artie what he saw through his glasses.

She lost the chance to ask him at the house, too, when Jack and Timothy brought him into the living room so they could play with their brand new video game. Artie had played this console before, but only at his older cousin's house, and now he'd get to play it again, on a new console, where the remotes weren't all weird and kind of dirty. Gemma let him play, telling herself whoever the women really were, she could figure it out on her own.

Artie would have figured it out even if the Doctor hadn't fixed his glasses. He knew about the shield meter, and when looking at the boys' arms, he'd caught a glimpse or two of the light through their sleeves. Other people would have made it for a flare of the light, a reflection, but he knew better.

"I think we saw you in the diner yesterday around lunch time, is that right? There was another woman with you," Karen asked.

"Yes, you did, and there was. It was my sister, one of my sisters. She is with our other sister at the moment. She just arrived in town this morning," Gemma explained.

"What about the boy's father?" Daphne asked. Now Gemma wondered if that wasn't what had gotten their attention: Jane the single mother, like them.

"Dead," she thought quickly, hoping that the others, if the subject came up, would have the presence of mind of saying the same thing, seeing as they'd somehow forgotten that detail. "In the same accident that cost Artie the ability to walk."

"That is terrible," Daphne breathed with sympathy.

"It was," Gemma agreed.

"Our husbands were lost as well," Karen revealed after a moment. "That is how we ended up living together, to help each other."

"It's good that you weren't alone then," Gemma told them, and the women agreed quietly.

She didn't know when it was that it all came together for her, but soon she knew that the two women sitting with her were not human. It was something about the way they spoke, the words they chose. It didn't fit. Even if they had relocated to Indiana after what had happened to their husbands. It wasn't something most people would pick up on, and even she was surprised at herself for noticing it.

Almost at the same time as she was figuring this out, she was noticing something else: the house was cold. It might have been that there was air conditioning, although the summer wasn't too hot yet for it to be necessary, but there was no sound. Especially in the eighties, she didn't see air conditioning going unheard. Even then, it wasn't that kind of chill. She'd only thought out of the blue that it felt like it wasn't so much that they were trying to keep themselves cool but rather that they were trying to keep something cool, and that neither woman looked all that affected, that it clicked… and she, well, froze.

What if the array was very warm? Too warm?

How she got through the rest of the hour and a half they spent at Daphne and Karen's without letting anything on, she had no idea. She had spent the better part of that time trying to decide if the guardian was Daphne or if it was Karen. But finally she would collect Artie, ("Five more minutes, please, aunt Gem?") and they would leave.

"Did they say anything?" she asked him once they were far enough away.

"Like what?"

"About what they are," Gemma explained. He shook his head. She wanted to tell him what she'd found out, or what she was all but certain of at least, but she wasn't going to risk anyone hearing them. "This might take a few days," she confided.

"I saw an inn," Artie told her.

"You did? Tell you what, let's go and leave a note for your aunts and then we'll get a couple of rooms."

TO BE CONTINUED (TUESDAY)


	18. Upside Down

**"Guardian of the Array"**

**18. Upside Down**

_March 2012 – Lima, Ohio_

They'd talked for a few minutes more after that, but then she had to go her way and he had to go his. It was only after they did this that it really sank in. All their plans… what was he supposed to do anymore?

The day had been nearly done already before she'd pulled him aside to talk, and he barely saw the rest of it go that all of a sudden everyone was getting ready to go home, and he could see Puck heading his way. He still didn't know what they were supposed to do.

"Ready to go?" Puck asked, and Artie went completely silent. "Dude, what's wrong with you?"

"Nothing, I… did bad on a pop quiz," he lied.

"Don't even worry about that, it's not like it's worth anything, is it?"

"Not really, no." _Especially since it never happened._

"Alright, then let's get going."

"Wait…" he tried, and as soon as Puck looked back at him, he had nothing. He couldn't make himself come up with a lie that would be good enough. Even if he did get Puck to not go to Sugar's today, he would want to go another day. And if they didn't go then, or if she finally did return, at one time or another, he would want to go and talk to her. The only way for that conversation not to happen was if Artie managed to call the entire plan off. He couldn't do that. He sighed. "I need to go to my locker."

They'd gotten in Puck's car, and then they were on their way to Sugar's house. All the while, he thought about her, not Sugar but Gemma. He had made a promise, and he was already breaking it. Maybe he could find a way to stop this from the other end, once they got to Sugar's.

X

They hadn't been the only ones to notice Sugar's absence at school. She'd been in the class where Gemma was subbing this time, and after she'd been absent from class one day and hadn't been seen in the halls the one after either, there was cause for concern.

At least, in her case, she had the secretary's office to back up her inquiry. After making a quick stop there, she'd seen that her parents had called her in sick. Maybe that was true, but part of her was just not feeling it. And if they added her absence catching the attention of the nosy boys, Artie and Puck, well…

That was why she'd decided to make her 'revelation' when she'd made it. She didn't know what they were going to do, but she had to get in where she could. Hopefully, Artie would listen.

X

Puck had helped him back into his chair before sprinting off to the door. He rang the bell, waited… Nothing. He looked back, and Artie shrugged. He rang again, and there was still nothing.

"Maybe they did go on vacation," Puck said as he came back.

"Well, her car's here," Artie pointed out.

"Okay, hang on," he took his phone out and pulled up her number, putting the call in. He wasn't expecting a response, but he got one, and his back straightened.

"Hello?"

"Hey, there you are," Puck answered. There was a moment of silence.

"I thought my father was calling," she mumbled, which he took to mean that she wouldn't have answered otherwise. "What do you want?"

"Just wondering why you haven't been in school the past couple of days."

"I'm sick, okay?" she told him, and he recognized that she was attempting to sound stuffed up, even putting in a weak cough.

"Yeah, you're going to have to do better than that to convince me. Look, Artie and I are outside…"

"You're what?" she sounded shocked, and Artie tapped his arm, making him look up. They spotted Sugar at the window, phone stuck to her ear. "What are you doing here?"

"I told you, we're wondering…"

"Fine, come to the door," she said, hanging up. Puck looked back to Artie.

"She says she's coming down," he started back toward the door. Artie sighed, following him. He should have been the one to call her, to try and pull the plug on all of this.

It took a minute before the door was pulled open enough for them to see Sugar. She was fully dressed, hair and makeup and everything, not in PJs, dishevelled, with a tissue box at the ready.

"Did you call the school and pretend to be your mom or something?" Puck was confused by this.

"No," she said.

"So your parents know you're not sick?"

"No."

"Then why are you all dressed up?"

"Why not?" she glared. "What do you want?"

"Can you let us in first?" Puck glared right back.

"You can tell me from out there," she insisted.

"Do you have a boy in there or something?"

"A b… No, why?"

"You seem real bent on not letting us in," he pointed out.

"I didn't ask you to come."

"Sugar, come on," Puck sighed. "Please?" he tried to go for politeness, reaching for the door.

The moment he did, she reacted and tried to push it shut, and Puck received it fast in the face. He grunted and nearly lost his footing, while Sugar gasped.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to… Are you okay?" she asked. He looked up, and she gasped again. "You're bleeding, you're…" She paused for a moment, took what Artie could only call a calming breath, and pulled the door open all the way. "Alright, come in, both of you," she waved them in, and Puck came in, tapping his cheek, which had a good cut on it.

"What's gotten into you?" he spoke a bit louder than he'd intended, and she jumped nervously.

"I'm really, really sorry, come on, I'll fix you up." She grabbed hold of his hand and tugged him toward the stairs heading to the second floor. Artie came up at the bottom of the stairs and could go no further. This was bad news.

"Wait, don't you have a bathroom downstairs?" he called, the others already halfway up the staircase.

"Everything I need is upstairs," she hollered back.

Before he could say anything else, they had disappeared out of view, and a moment later he heard the bathroom door shut. He kept hearing Gemma's voice in his head, and now he knew almost for certain that he had let her down. Puck would open his mouth, and then the secret would be out.

TO BE CONTINUED (FRIDAY)


End file.
